Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked on Wednesday by a conservative radio host to talk about his racy 1977 Oui magazine interview -- detailing drug use and group sex. The GOP gubernatorial candidate responded with a laugh, "I never lived my life to be a politician. I never lived my life to be the governor of California."

"Obviously, I've made statements that were ludicrous and crazy and outrageous and all those things, because that's the way I always was," he said.

A day later, he was asked about it at a press conference. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he told reporters. "I have no memory of any of the articles I did 20 or 30 years ago."

With six weeks to go to the Oct. 7 election, the apparent about face by Schwarzenegger and the coverage of the 1977 interview by a then 29-year-old bodybuilder on television and in newspapers this week underscored the challenges ahead for the political neophyte. It also highlights the dramatic difference between the entertainment world and the brutal world of politics -- particularly in a high-pressure, short gubernatorial campaign managed in the glare of an international spotlight.

"When you're a Hollywood celebrity, people can intrude in your private life and you have no obligation to answer," said Bruce Cain, political science professor at UC Berkeley. "But if you're running for public office, it becomes an issue of character."

Cain says the pressure is now on Schwarzenegger to address the issue with frankness because "at least a quarter of the electorate make their decision on those (character) issues completely. And when you're a candidate who is rather vague on the issues and saying 'trust me,' then character becomes all that more critical."

Claremont-McKenna College government professor Jack Pitney said the stumble underscores the unforgiving nature of California politics, where "a slight semantic error can lead to a week full of bad publicity. And in a five-week campaign, you can't afford a week of bad publicity."

"It's the kind of mistake that a politician would ordinarily make in a run for state assembly," Pitney said. "Other politicians make their early mistakes out of the limelight. He's making them in the limelight, and under a microscope."

Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said Schwarzenegger's flip-flop is particularly newsworthy because it comes from a candidate who is both communications-savvy, and surrounded by veterans consultants.

"This could have been a one day story, and it was all in the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger. And he dropped the ball," Bebitch Jeffe said. "It's the equivalent of, 'I can't hear you, Matt,' " the response Schwarzenegger gave to "Today" show host Matt Lauer's query if he would release his taxes.

Now, Bebitch Jeffe said, the actor-candidate appears to be establishing "a pattern of behavior" in which he says one thing, and does another. "It's waffling," she said.

The interview that ignited the controversy appeared in the now-defunct men's magazine Oui. In recent weeks, the 26-year-old interview has been widely distributed on the Internet on sites like the Drudge Report and www.thesmokinggun.com. The question-and-answer session was pegged to the release of "Pumping Iron," the 1977 bodybuilding documentary that rocketed the young Austrian to stardom.

In the article, Schwarzenegger acknowledged using "grass and hash -- no hard drugs" and described in detail participating in group sex with bodybuilders at Gold's Gym in Venice.

In an interview on Sacramento radio station KFBK last Wednesday, talk show host Mark Williams specifically asked Schwarzenegger about the Oui article, which had just been posted on the Internet.

"Obviously, I've made statements that were ludicrous and crazy and outrageous and all those things, because that's the way I always was," he said.

"I was always that way" he said, "because otherwise I wouldn't have done the things that I did in my career, including the bodybuilding and the show business and all those things."

But 24 hours later, the candidate -- in response to reporters' questions -- said repeatedly he did not remember the interview and refused to comment on it.

Campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman -- asked to explain the different responses -- said that Schwarzenegger "does not recall, specifically, a specific interview he gave 25 years ago."

"He came out there prepared to talk about what he was going to do in Fresno,

prepared to talk about the (agricultural) economy," Stutzman said Friday. Asked if the candidate had seen the Oui postings, Stutzman said, "he has not seen it. I don't know if he will see it. Californians should rest assured their next governor doesn't sit around surfing Drudge."

Asked if Schwarzenegger had been prepared for potential questions on the topic by reporters, Stutzman said, "I'm not going to get into the campaign process." But, he added, "This campaign is proactive, not reactive. And every effort by Democratic operatives to create an atmosphere of 'puke politics,' -- to quote (Attorney General) Bill Lockyer -- will be something we ignore."

Cain of UC Berkeley said that in such a high level campaign, strategists certainly play a role -- nearly as important as the candidate. "We know all the consultants, and we know they know all the tricks. The (question) is: They do coach them?"

But, he says, no matter how good the advice, the candidate makes the decision on how to address issues -- or whether to punt. "I doubt it's possible that the staff people didn't give him the full truth," he said. "But it's also possible they gave him the coaching, and Arnold does what he wants."

But in coming weeks, Schwarzenegger may also have to answer questions about other interviews he's done in the past -- some of them dealing with policy issues rather than personal issues.

In a 1981 interview with Penthouse, Schwarzenegger -- who has come out in favor of gun control -- detailed how he was strongly against gun control, because it "forbids law-abiding citizens from owning guns but doesn't stop the criminals, who can always buy them on the black market."

"Also, there have never been valid statistics to prove that gun control has worked," Schwarzenegger told Penthouse. "There are gun-control laws in Austria and Germany, but more people have guns there than you can imagine. You can get them everywhere on the black market. Gun control isn't the answer. Stiffer punishments are the answer."

Asked about those statements, campaign spokesman Stutzman said Friday, "I don't think anyone's surprised that in the course of 20 years, someone's positions (on issues) has changed. He has stated he supports the current assault weapons ban and the Brady Bill, and wants to close the gun show loophole."